Yesterday, Feb 22, 2010, I sold 1 FCX May10 90 Covered Call for a net deposit of $172.21 in an IRA account.  My basis for these FCX shares is now 87.46, excluding dividends received.

I had a few choices for which Call to sell on FCX and decided to sell the May10 Call to coincide with the expiration of an FCX 80 Put I sold earlier.  If I decide to allow the May FCX put to be assigned to me I will then be able to consolidate my FCX shares and sell 2 Puts.  My basis will be lower and trading costs per share are reduced when selling more contracts.

I consider FCX to be part of my core holdings.  It has recently returned to paying a dividend after withholding them since Oct 2008.  The current dividend is only .15 compared to .50 in Oct 2008 so it is not great but is a good signal for the future.